Printing-machine.



L. A. SOHMIDT. PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1909.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVEN TOR firr'rs.

WITNESSES.

w. a. 7 WW4 M1 L. A. SCHMIDT.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.9, 1909.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

3 SHEBTSSHEET 2.

PLANOORAPH co.. WASHINGTON. u c.

L. A. SCHMIDT.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.9. 1909.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTOR.

E Maw WTED STATES PATENT @FEIQE.

LOUIS A. SCHMIDT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO R. HOE AND 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRINTING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS A. SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-Machines, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in printing machines.

In the production of newspapers, the unit ordinarily employed is the four page sheet, this being the product of a pair of printing and perfecting couples, the printing member of each couple being provided, to produce this unit, with two plates arranged side by side and the web being wide enough to receive the two impressions, that is each printing cylinder carries four plates, these plates being arranged two around and two across the cylinder, the printing matter on what may be termed the second pair of plates varying with respect to the character of paper to be produced, that is to say, the second pair of plates may carry matter which is a duplicate of the first pair of plates, or it may differ therefrom" in case a collected product is to be produced. The product of such a machine is ordinarily increased by increasing the length of the cylinders so as to cause the printing cylinders to carry a second set of four plates. By duplicating the sets of cylinders the product may also be readily increased, the four page product, however, being the unit of increase, so that the products produced are multiples of this four page unit. It will be understood, of course, that in printing machines of the character referred to, the plates may be arranged with their columns either running around the cylinders or parallel to their axes as may be desired. l/Vhere, however, the columns of the plates run around the cylinder, the usual type of folder employed is the well-known longitudinal folder or former, but where the plates have their columns parallel with the axis of the cylinder, a former cannot be used, and the folder is usually of the rotary type, so that the fold may be made parallel with the columns.

l Vhere it is desired to produce a product the pages of which are not a multiple of four, such, for instance, as a six, ten, or fourteen page product, it is, of course, obvious Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 9, 1909.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

Serial No. 488,824.

that the four page unit cannot be employed and therefore various types of mechanism have been used, these mechanism in the main depending upon the printing of a single wide web, that is, a web wide enough to carry the impression of a single plate, this single wide Web being associated with a full width web to produce a six page paper, with two full width webs to produce a ten page paper, and so on, this single wide web being printed either by making the cylinders long enough to carry an extra set of plates, or, as is usual, where ten and fourteen page papers are to be produced, by introducing into the machine an extra set of couples running either at full speed or at half speed.

In Patent No. 857,962, granted July 25, 1907, to Robert I-Ioe, as assignee of O. L. Raabe and G. F. Read, a machine is disclosed for producing products the pages of which are not a multiple of four. In this machine, the printing member of each coupie is arranged to carry six plates, these plates being arranged three across the cylinder and two around, the columns being parallel to the axis of the cylinder. The machine prints uponat-hree wide web, this web being slit into three parts, sheets from which are subsequently associated and delivered by a rotary folder. This machine is constructed so that one of the pair of printing plates on one end of each cylinder may be omitted, the blank thus left on the Web, as it passes between the cylinders, being cut out and the sheet thus formed delivered as a blank sheet out of the machine, the remaining sheet which contains only two pages being associated with sheets from the other webs to form what may be termed the odd sheet products. While the particular machine referred to and disclosed in said patent has distinct advantages, some newspaper ofiices desire machines in which the columns run around the cylinder rather than across, for the reason that it is sometimes desired to vary the number of columns in the paper. It will, of course, be understood that where the columns are arranged parallel with the axis of the cylinder, the columns always being of standard width, the number of columns is necessarily fixed because the plates must, to avoid wasting paper, cover substantially the entire surface of the cylinder. Further, certain newspaper offices desire to use a longitudinal folder which it is not feasible to use with the particular machine disclosed in the patent referred to.

The present invention. has for its object to produce an improved printing machine which shall be simple and economical to build, which shall be of such a character that papers having pages not a multiple of four may be produced, which shall be capacitated to print from plates arranged with the columns running around the cylinder and with which a longitudinal folder maybeused if desired;

With this and; other objects not specifically referred to.in. view, the. invention con sists. in. certain constructions, and in certain parts, improvements. and combinations as.

will. be hereinafter fully describedand then specifically pointed. out.

Referring to the drawings-Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation. of so much of a. printing machine. constructed. in accord.- ance with the invention as is necessary to an.understandingthereof. Fig. 2 is a view.

similar to.Fig. 1, showing. theparts in adifferent. position. Fig. 3zis. a view similar to Fig. 1., the mechanism. being, however, arranged; to produce. a. fourteen page paper,

anadditional cutting. mechanism beingv shown. Fig. tis a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing-the parts in a diiferent position. Fig. 5 is a. plan View of. certain. web transferring. mechanism which may be. employed. Fig. 6 is. a plan.- View of one of the printed webs used in theformation of a fourteen page product. Fig.- 7is a plan view of certain collecting and transferring mechanism employed inthe machine illustrated.

It will be understood that, in carrying the invention. into effect, the, web orwebs.

maybeprinted by printing and perfecting couples, theprintingmember of: each couplebeingarranged'to carry eight plates arranged four. across and two around the cylinder, and: with the columns of the plates running around thecylinder, or two sets of couplesmay beemployed, theprinting member of each couple carrying four. plates, arranged tw-o around and two across. The construction of rotary printing machines of the character referred to is well understood in the art, and a specific description and illustration thereof is unnecessary to an understanding of the invention. The arrangement. of the plates, however, will be understood from the illustration of the printed webin Figs. 6 and 7.

Referring tothe drawings, and assuming that the web marked 1 has been printed and perfected in a machine employing couples the printing member of each of which is.

capacitated to carry eight plates arranged four. across and two around, the webs are forwarded in the usual manner and: acted uponby. a slitter, indicatediat 2, this. slittercooperating with the'usual" roller, indicated Fig. 1.

at 3. The slitter converts the web 1 into two webs, marked 4, 5, the web 5, being the one which is farthest from the observer in This web, in the particular construction illustrated, is transferred laterally by the usual bars 6, 7, so as to bring it beneath the web 4:, and it is then forwarded by the usual guides, indicated at 8, 9, com- 1 pensating roll 10, and driven nipping rollers 11. If desired, paste may be applied to this web by rolls12- of theusual type in. thisclassof. machines. This. web may be cut into sheets in any desired manner, by mechanism, which may be varied: in character and location. In the particular machine illustrated, the cutting is effected by a pair of cylinders 13, 14', one of which is. a collecting cylinder.

Machines embodying the invention will include means forremoving a section. from one of the webs in order toenable a product containing pages; not a. multiple of four to be formed. The means employed for thus removing this web section. may be varied and, will vary according tothe product to be. produced.

Referring more particularly to the construction illustrated-z in Figs. '1 and 2, the removing mechanism employed in. the particular machine illustrated in these figures, includes. a pair of cutting. cylinders of a usual. type. After the slitting operation, the webl isforwarded by nipping rolls 15, a compensating roll: 16 being employed, if desired, to-the pair of cutting cylinders 17., 1:8.which convertit. intosheets. Ashas been indicated, the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2' is ar-ranged toproduce a ten page paper and. in. this. instance, the webl': is a three wideweb, the slitter employed dividing thiswebintoa single wide web a and a double wide web 5. One. of the plates. of each printing cylinder. is omitted, so that the web has alternately a printedpage and a blank space thereon. The cutting cylinders 17, 18 dividethis web intoprinted and blank sheets.

In machines embodying the invent-ion, means will:be-provided for associating the printedsheets of. the web 4 withthe printed. sheets cut from. the otherweb. While this mechanism maybe varied, in the particular constructions illustrated; there is employed a transfer cylinder 19, thiscylinder being located between the-cuttingcylinder 18 and the collecting cylinder 13. This transfer cylinder will be provided with sheet taking. devices, as, for instance,- pins, indicated at 20. In the particular machine illustrated, the cutting cy linder 18 is also-provided with sheet taking devices, as, for instance, pins 21, 22. The cylinders 18, 19.-are, asshown, of thesame size and the sheet taking. devices 20 are arrangedto cotiperatewith the sheet taking-devices 22; In the operation ofi this mechanism,it being understood that the cutting cylinders are arranged to produce sheets equal in length to half the circumference of the cylinders 18, 19it is apparent that the head of one sheet will be taken by the pins 21 on the cylinder 18 and that the head of the next sheet will be taken by the pins 22. As the construction is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the pins 22 will deliver the sheets taken by them to the pins 20 on the cylinder 19, but the pins 21 will carry the sheets taken by them around the cylinder 18. In the operation of the machine illustrated, the sheets taken by the pins 21 are the blank sheets referred to and these sheets will be delivered out of the machine by any suitable mechanism. In the construction illustrated, there is employed a delivery cylinder 23 having sheet taking devices which may consist of pins 24 and a fly 25. To give the fly time to operate, the cylinder 23 may be arranged to make several revolutions, so as to collect a number of blank sheets before delivering them to the fly.

- The sheets taken by the pins 20 are forwarded for association with the sheets cut from the web 5. It has been before stated that the cylinder 13 is a collecting cylinder and this cylinder is provided with sheet tak ing devices which may consist of the usual pins, 26. The mechanism is so timed that these pins, after taking the leading edge of the web 5 carry it around, the pins meeting and taking the sheet held by the pins 20. The sheet carried by the cylinder 19 is thereafter superposed upon the sheet carried by the cylinder 13, the heads of the sheets being carried around and meeting the leading edge of the web 5, as is common in this class of devices. The product is then, where a ten page paper is to be produced, delivered in any suitable manner, though practically the delivery can best be efiected by a longitudinal folder of the usual type, such as that indicated at 27. Inasmuch as the sheets from the web 5 are, as has been indicated, four page sheets, and the sheets from the web 4 two page sheets, a ten page product will be formed with the two page sheet inset between the fou page sheets.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4t is arranged to produce a fourteen page product. In this construction, the web 1, instead of being a three wide web, is the full width of the couples, so that the webs 1, 5 are, after being operated upon by the slitter, double wide webs. Inasmuch, however, as a fourteen page product is to be produced, a section will be removed from the side of one of the webs, this necessitating, in the particular machine shown, a cut extending longitudinally of one of the webs.

The sheet removing mechanism should, therefore, include means for effectingthis longitudinal cut. While this cutting mechanism may be varied in its details of construction, in the particular construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cutting cylinders 17, 18 are retained, but the mechanism includes an additional cutting mechanism which may be of the slitter type. As illustrated, this mechanism includes a roll 28 with which cooperates a slitter 29, this slitter being mounted on an arm 30 supported on a shaft 31. The arm 30 has connected to it a cam rod 31' forked at its lower end, as 32, to straddle a shaft 33 on which a cam 34.- is mounted which cooperates with a roll 35 mounted on the rod 31, the mechanism being a wellknown one. The rod 31 may be surrounded by the usual spring 36.

The slitter 29 is shown as operating upon that part of the web 1 which is to form the web 1, and, for clearness of illustration, is shown as located so as to act on the web in advance of the slitter 2, which operates as before. Practically, however, this slitter would usually be arranged so as to cooperate with the roll 3 instead of cooperating with the roll 28. In the construction illustrated, this slitter is arranged to operate between what will become the edges of the web 4:, and the cam is timed so that the slitter may produce a cut equal in length to a page. After being slit by the two slitters, in the manner described, the web 1 is, by means of the rolls 15, 16, or equivalent devices, forwarded to the cutting mechanism 17, 18, referring to the particular machine illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The knives on the cylinders 17, 18 are only equal in width to the width of a page, so that as the web 4: passes these knives, cut-s are made therein which complete the cutting out of a section from the web, as shown in Fig. the section be- 195 ing equal. in size to a page, the longitudinal out which assists in forming this section having been made, as pointed out, by the slitting mechanism 28, 29. The head of this cut-out page section is taken by the pins 21, 110 as before, and it is thereafter carried around the cylinder 17 and delivered to the cylinder 23. The pins 22 which were employed in connection with the cylinder 18 in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, are 115 either omitted or rendered inoperative, and the pins on the cylinder 19 employed in connection with the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 are also omitted or made inoperative. The leading end of the web 1 is 120 carried around the cylinder 19 and is taken by the pins 26 on the cylinder 13, these pins advancing the leading end of the web until it meets the leading end of the web 5 which has been transferred laterally and guided to 1251 the cylinders, as in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The pins 26 holding the leading edge of the web et,this being the two-page wide part of the web,as

has been described, pick up the leading edge 1 of the'web 5, and both webs will be carried around the cylinder 13, as indicated in Fig.

3. The pins 26 of the cylinder 13 again in"- palethe web t, the pinsstriking across the narrow part ofthe web, as illustrated in the plies wrapped around the cylinder 1.3

are cut by the cuttingmechanism on the cylinders 13, 14', and after the cutting takes place, the pins pick upthe leading edge-of the, web 5 and advance it for a shortdistance, afterwhich the pins are withdrawn and the three sheets and that part of the web 5 which forms the fourth sheet are sent to the former. its revolution with. no sheets thereon, until the pins thereon again pick up the leading edge of the web 4'. After thus picking up the leading edge of the web, the cylinder continues its revolution until the cutting knives onthe cylinders 13, 1d cut off that part of the web 5 whichunderliesthc sheets which have been delivered, thus completing the product which is traveling down the former, and the leading edge of this web is again picked up; by the pins; the cycle of operations being continued.

It will beunderstood that the-product going down the former consists of three fourpage sheets, and. a two page sheet. Referring" to the sheets as they go down the former, the topasheetv is a four page sheet obtained from the web-4, the second sheet is a fourpage sheet obtained from the web 5', the third sheet is-a two-page sheet formed by the narrow part of the web 4 (referring to Fig. 6)- and the fourth sheet isa four page sheet obtainedfr-om the web 5.

It'is apparent that by cutting out the slitter 28, 29 and rendering the knives on the cylinders 17 18 inoperative, a sixteen page paper may be obtained. The machine is, therefore, capacitated to produce all products up to sixteen pages, the pages-varying by twos. Furthermore, this may be done with a single set of printing and perfecting cylinders, each cylinder being four plates wide. Further, by reason of the fact that the columns of. the plates are arranged to run around the oylinders, the size of the pages may be'varied'by-reducing or increasing the number of columns in the paper, as desired, and the sheets may be folded on a former or longitudinal folder.-

Reference has been herein made to the section cut out of the web as a blank sheet. It will of course be understood that, if desired, this sheet may be a printed sheet bearingmatterwhich it is not desired to in clude with the collected product.

Changes and variations may be made in the'constructions by which the invention is The cylinder. 13- continueseve e carried into effect. The invention is not, therefore, to be confined: to: the particular constructions herein shown and described.

hat is claimed is: 1. The combination wlth means for for warding a plurality of webs at the same speed, said webs having been printed on a rotary printing mechanism the printing cylinders of'which-have their printing surfaces: arranged: thereon so that the columnsrun around the cylinders, whereby the webs arevimprinted with columns parallel to the run fthereof, of a collecting cylinder for collecting sheets cut from one of the webs, and means for removinga section from one of the webs before collection, whereby a product havinganumber of pages in a multiple of twomay'beformed.

2. The combination with means for forwarding a plurality of webs at the same speed, the'webs bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the webs of'a collecting cylinder for collecting sheets cut fromthewebs, means-for removing a section from one of: the webs'before collection, whereby the cylinder is caused to collect a product the pages of which are not a multiple of four, and a lon- .gitudi'nal folder which receives the product from the cylinder.

3. The combination with means for for warding a web, said web having been printed on a rotary printing mechanism the printing cylinders of which have their printing surfaces arranged thereon so that the. columns run around the cylinders, whereby the web-1s imprinted with columns parallel to the run thereof, of means for slit ting the web, meansfor thereafter advancing bothparts of the web at the same time,

-means for transferring a part of the web 'sidewise, a collecting cylinder for collecting sheets from both parts ofthe web, and

:means for removing a section from one of the parts prior to collection, whereby a product may beformed the pages ofwhich are not a multiple of four.

4. The combination with means for for warding andslitting a web, the web bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the web, of means for thereafter advancing both partsof the web at the'same speed, means for transferring a part of the web sidewlse, a collectmgcyhn der collecting sheets from both parts-of the web, means for removing a sectionfrom one ofthe parts prior to collection, whereby a product may be'for-med the pages of which are not a multiple of four, and a longitudinal folderwhich receives-the product from the cylin der;

5. The combination with a collecting cylinder, of'means fordirecting a web-thereto, a pair of cutting cylinders, means for-directing a web'to said cylinders, said webs bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the webs, a transfer cylinder located between the collecting cylinder and one of the pair of cutting cylinders, sheet taking devices on one of the cutting cylinders arranged to take alternate sections of the product formed by the cutting cylinders, sheet taking devices on the transfer cylinder arranged to forward the remainder of the product formed by the cutting cylinders to the collecting cylinder, and means for delivering the sections taken by the cutting cylinder out of the machine.

6. The combination with a collecting cylinder, of means for directing a web thereto, a pair of cutting cylinders, means for directing a web to said cylinders, said webs bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the webs, a transfer cylinder located between the collecting cylinder and one of the pair of cutting cylinders, sheet taking devices on one of the cutting cylinders arranged to take alternate sections of the product formed by the cuttin cylinders, sheet taking devices on the transfer cylinder arranged to forward the remainder of the product formed by the cutting cylinders to the collecting cylinder, means for delivering the sections taken by the cutting cylinder out of the machine, and a longitudinal folder which receives the product from the collecting cylinder.

7. The combination with means for forwarding a web, said web having been printed on a rotary printing mechanism the printing cylinders of which have their printing surfaces arranged thereon so that the columns run around the cylinders, whereby the web is imprinted with columns parallel to the run thereof, of means for slitting the web,means for transferring one part of the web sidewise, a collecting cylinder, means for advancing both parts of the web to the cylinder, and means for removing a section from one of the parts of the web before it reaches the collecting cylinder.

8. The combination with means for forwarding and slitting a web, said web bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the web, of means for transferring one part of the web sidewise, a collecting cylinder, means for advancing both parts of the web to the cylinder, means for removing a section from one of the parts of the web before it reaches the collecting cylinder, and a longitudinal folder which receives the product from the collecting cylinder.

9. The combination with means for forwarding and slitting a web, said web bearing printed matter the columns of which are parallel to the run of the web, of means for transferring one part of the web sidewise, a collecting cylinder to which one part of the web is led, a pair of cutting cylinders to which the other part of the web is led, a transfer cylinder intermediate the cutting and collecting cylinders, means for causing the transfer cylinder to deliver a part of the product formed by the cutting cylinders to the collecting cylinder, and means for delivering the remainder of the product formed by the cutting cylinders out of the machine.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS A. SCHMIDT. Witnesses:

F. W. H. CRANE, G120. V. WILLIAMSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

